Senior Research Associate Jim Kostaras presented an update of I2UD’s ongoing study on climate adaptation in El Alto, Bolivia at The Initiative on Climate Adaptation Research and Understanding through the Social Sciences (ICARUS) conference at Columbia University in New York City, on May 19, 2012.
As an invited speaker on the ICARUS panel entitled, Governing Environmental Risks & Vulnerabilities in Cities, Jim discussed the impact of El Alto’s impending water crisis, due to the melting glaciers triggered by global warming, and its implications for land use and urban development policy. I2UD has partnered with the Stockholm Environment Institute to undertake this study, funded by the Lincoln Institute for Land Policy.
ICARUS brings together scholars, researchers, students, decision makers, and activists interested in working on adaptation to climate variability and change. Members of the initiative are particularly interested in social-scientific and humanistic approaches to understanding climate-related vulnerabilities, risks, and human and ecosystem responses to vulnerability and risks over time.
